Courtney hopes break doesn’t hinder Highland’s progress

The Highland men’s basketball team certainly earned its lengthy holiday break after closing out the 2012 portion of its schedule looking strong in a William R. Bear Tournament title run.

By Adam J. Kradle

Journal Standard

By Adam J. Kradle

Posted Dec. 20, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 20, 2012 at 7:04 PM

By Adam J. Kradle

Posted Dec. 20, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 20, 2012 at 7:04 PM

Freeport, Ill.

The Highland men’s basketball team certainly earned its lengthy holiday break after closing out the 2012 portion of its schedule looking strong in a William R. Bear Tournament title run.

Cougars coach Nathan Courtney is glad his team will have the time to rest up before it heads into conference play after the new year, but he can’t help but wish the break was a little shorter than it is for a team that’s been on a roll.

“It’s a little too long for us,” Courtney said. “I won’t see the guys until January 2. It’s not exactly what you want to do. We do need to rest some bodies but there’s always that problem with what kind of shape they’re going to be in when they get back.”

Highland won’t play again until January 10 in its conference opener at home against Carl Sandburg, and while Courtney is hopeful his team won’t have too much of a problem picking up where it left off, he isn’t without concerns.

“We’ll have eight days to get ready for our next game when they do come back but three weeks is a long time and a lot can happen,” Courtney said.

“These kids change overnight. There’s no telling what can happen in three weeks.”

In the interest of trying to make the transition back smoother for the Cougars, Courtney has let his players know exactly what’s expected of them during the break.

“They still have to work,” Courtney said. “I still want them running a couple of miles a day. I don’t want them playing pickup ball back home. I want them drilling. I want them sprinting. I want them with the ball in their hand doing the drills that we do in practice and really getting after it for a good hour and a half every day on their own.”

With Highland having made such good progress in its past five games, all of which the Cougars won, it’s understandable that Courtney wouldn’t want his team’s improvement to be impeded by anything, even if it is time off.

“You can’t make those types of strides and then take three steps backwards,” Courtney said. “You’ve got to stay focused and keep working.”